The U.S. Treasury has added three Ethereum wallet addresses to sanctions allegedly related to hacker groups stealing more than $ 600 million in cryptocurrencies from the Ronin sidechain of non-fungible token game Axie Infinity. bottom.
In a Friday update, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Ministry of Finance listed three Ethereum addresses for restrictions on specially designated citizens of North Korea’s Lazarus Group. U.S. authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies, have targeted the group for its role in stealing 173,600 Ethereum (ETH) and US $ 25.5 million coins (USDC) from the Ronin sidechain in March. I am. The token was worth more than $ 600 million at the time.
U.S. Government Sector Alluded to In a tweet on Friday, the address was added to the list to prevent North Korea from evading sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations. Blockchain records show that at least one of the wallet addresses connected to the Ronin hacker has funded crypto mixer services, including Tornado Cash.
OFAC has added three crypto wallet addresses to Lazarus Group’s SDN list. The Democratic People s Republic of Korea has relied on illegal activities such as cybercrime to generate income while trying to avoid US and UN sanctions. Transactions with these risks are at risk of being exposed to US sanctions. https://t.co/GMNZkwe1IA
— Ministry of Finance (@USTreasury) April 22, 2022
Chainalysis reported in January that North Korea stole about $ 400 million in cryptocurrencies through a cyberattack in 2021. This means that Ronin’s theft could be the largest ever. Fraudulent funds associated with hacking groups in concealed nations were primarily 58% for Ether, 20% for Bitcoin, and 22% for other tokens.
Related: FBI and CSIA warn about North Korean cyberattacks on crypto targets
The addition of ETH addresses was the latest step in identifying digital assets imposed by OFAC as a means of raising funds for sanctioned governments. In April, government departments targeted Russia-based darknet marketplace Hydra and cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, and cryptocurrency mining company BitRiver, on suspicion of connecting to payments from ransomware attacks and other cybercrime. Announced that it was.
